EPISODE 01: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
My Solo Trip to the National Bank Open in Montreal
What happens when a recreational tennis player stops watching the score and starts watching the details?
There is something special about traveling alone to watch live tennis. When you travel to watch live tennis you also get to explore the city where the tennis is being held. You can wander around the city and then watch hours of great tennis. This is what I did on my recent trip to Montreal, Quebec: I explored the city and watched live tennis at the National Bank Open.
As someone who now plays tennis, I noticed that I have started watching professional tennis in a very different way than I used to. Instead of just watching the score and admiring how hard the players are hitting the ball, I find myself watching their technique, movement, and all the other little details of their game.
Montreal: A Mini-Europe in North America
Before we get into the tennis, I’d like to quickly share my travel experience in Montreal. To me, Quebec, with its beautiful architecture, exquisite cuisine, and historic sites, is a Mini-Europe in North America. Montreal, in particular, is a charming city that I always look forward to returning to. The area known as Vieux-Montréal or Old Montreal, with its cobblestone streets and historic buildings of stone, is a fascinating place to explore. Vieux-Montréal is a site to see and you can literally spend hours just wandering around getting lost in the historic buildings. My time at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts took around half a day as I walk through the galleries and admire the artwork. I was able to go at my own pace and look at everything up close. One tip: If you’re visiting Montreal for the National Bank Open and happen to encounter one of those rainy Montreal days, the museum is a great place to spend a few hours indoors.
Watching Tennis Differently Since I Started Playing
Ever since I started playing tennis, I’ve noticed that I watch professional tennis differently. A couple of years ago, when I watched professional tennis, I mostly admired the power and speed of the serves made by the pros. Now, I find myself watching their ball toss very closely. If you are a tennis player, you will understand how hard it is to get a consistent ball toss. It seems so easy for professional players when in fact it requires a lot of practice to get the ball to toss in the same spot every time. As for the other aspects of a player’s game, I now pay close attention to their stance, footwork, and how they’re constantly moving to anticipate the next shot. Watching professional tennis has become a bit of a learning experience for me.
Watching Alexei Popyrin’s Kick Serve Up Close
I got to watch Alexei Popyrin play a match while I was at the National Bank Open. I sat two rows behind his coach which provided me with the perfect court level view. What stood out for me immediately was the amount of topspin he can generate, particularly on his kick serve. And when I say the ball was bouncing high, I mean really high. His kick serve was going over the court and reaching the spectators. I’m not exaggerating! What I find really amazing is the fact that he can consistently produce that kind of serve during a match. It wasn’t a lucky shot that happened once or twice. He was repeatedly putting the ball into almost the same area with a lot of topspin and bounce. As someone who is still trying to develop their own serve, watching Alexei Popyrin serve from 2 rows in front was both impressive and also a bit humbling to watch.
Seeing Arthur Fils and Jack Draper Up Close
Arthur Fils and Jack Draper also had a practice session and I am very amazed by how they hit the ball with some serious power and control. Watching tennis live is completely different from watching it on TV. For one thing, it’s possible to see the ball in the air and realize how fast it’s traveling and how much spin is on it. For another, it’s just a completely different experience than sitting in your living room watching it on TV. You usually can’t see on TV how much spin is on the ball because of the camera zooming out to show the whole court. In person, you can actually see the ball rotating through the air. And then there’s the sound. The sound of a tennis racket striking the ball is so satisfying. You can hear and almost feel the difference when a pro hits the ball with serious pace. It made me appreciate their level of skill even more.
A Little Tennis Souvenir
On one of the rainy days when all matches were temporarily suspended, I went to check out the Tennis Giant pop-up shop at the National Bank Open. I ended up buying the cutest Technifibre strawberry dampener! So obviously I bought it because it’s so cute and it adds a little bit of personality to my tennis racket. Not every tennis souvenir has to be a shirt or hat.
What Watching the Pros Taught Me About My Own Game
My trip to the National Bank Open in Montreal was more than just watching professional tennis. As a recreational tennis player who is trying to get better at the game, I was observing the players and finding things that I could incorporate into my own game. Maybe I need to bend lower to give myself more stability. Maybe rotating my body more during my tennis forehand shots would aid in generating a better and more powerful swing. Maybe I need to work on that ball toss.
Being at the National Bank Open gave me the chance to watch some of the best tennis players in the world up close, and Montreal provided a fantastic city to explore. And this won’t be my last tennis trip. I will be traveling to Shanghai in October for the Rolex Shanghai Masters. I am looking forward to exploring another new city and watching some great tennis live in person. As a solo traveler and tennis enthusiast, I feel that this is the perfect combination of travel and sport.